Search This Blog

Pages

A visit with author Dave McDonald and Hamster S.A.M.

Last night, I took my kids to the Storybook Night at their school, mostly because I wanted to buy them books at the Scholastic Book Fair and it was the last night I could do so. We got our books and then decided to join in a presentation by Dave McDonald, author of Hamster S.A.M.: Odd-ventures in Space!, a graphic novel written for ages 7 and up.

McDonald gave the kids a brief overview of the book, which is about a hamster named Sam and his sidekick Fescue who fly their portable potty rocket into outer space. The kids thought it sounded like a fun story, and we ended up buying a copy at the signing table after the event. C loved it. M and I are going to read it tonight.

My favorite part of the presentation was when McDonald showed the kids the original artwork, which is much larger than the book, and explained that it is shrunk down to make the books.

I think the kids enjoyed his drawings the most. He showed how to use simple shapes like ovals, squares and circles as the basis for creating new characters.

When we got home, C immediately started reading the book, and M got right into drawing her own characters from simple shapes. I was impressed by the way his presentation really inspired my kids' creativity.

I seriously wish my potty would turn into a rocket and go somewhere really far away...somewhere that I can perhaps potty with no interruptions. It seems like a really cute story and I like that he taught them how to dry characters with simple shapes.

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This is the end of Banned Books Week and unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to write about banned books this year. But I did want to include at least one post about it, so today I wanted to share one of the book series that it seems most people are surprised to find on the list: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park.

According to Wikipedia:
The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000-2009. Reasons cited are poor social values taught by the books and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness and bad spelling/grammar.
This is an interesting example of a banned book. Many times there are serious, controversial topics featured in books that are challenged. Things like homosexuality, drugs, vulgar language, etc. You can actually understand why people may not want their children to read those books, and why they may challenge their inclusion in school libra…

Victoria has been put down since the day she was born. First by her parents who were disappointed that she survived while her twin brother died. Then by her verbally abusive husband and his low-life friends. But soon an intriguing artist named Elliott arrives in town and starts encouraging Victoria to follow her dream of opening her own dance studio. She also begins to receive phone calls from a mysterious someone who gets her to open up about her past and face her true feelings.

In No Story to Tell, KJ Steele has captured the small-town atmosphere and brought these characters to life. From the victimized Victoria, to her drunk and obnoxious husband Bobby and his drunk and obnoxious friends, to all the side characters who you'd expect to encounter in a town like this ~ all are so realistic in both their actions and their voices. She has written a compelling story of an abused woman who thinks she is trapped in this loveless, miserable existence. But then she finds a spark of hope…

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? You will after reading Clare Mackintosh's latest release I See You. Told from the perspectives of two women, one who appears to be targeted by a criminal and the other who is the police officer working the case, this psychological thriller will have you looking over your own shoulder by the end.

Zoe is a typical working mother who takes the Underground through London to her office every day. Like most commuters, she has a routine that she follows every day, leaving home at the same time, sitting in the same train car, taking the same route to work from the station. It's habit. But she starts to realize this may not be a good idea after seeing her own photo in an advertisement in the newspaper. Another woman who appears in the advertisement is murdered and Zoe starts to ge…